Caveman / Paleolithic diet?

UKHippy is a long running online community and of likeminded people exploring all interpretations on what it means to be living an alternative lifestyle -- we welcome discussions on everything related to sustainability, the environment, alternative spirituality, music, festivals, politics and more -- membership of this website is free but supported by the community.

The general idea is too eat in a similar way to our ancestors before farming was discovered ... so as "natural" as possible, avoiding grains, starches and factory produced foods and only eating food that's in line with our evolution - it generally presumes that prehistoric man ate far less meat than most people think he did, with more emphasis on gathering/scavenging than on hunting.

I've been following it on and off for the last few years - even as a veggie - and found it to be the most beneficial diet for attaining good health ... the stricter I am, the healthier I am - and when I get lazy I notice old issues creeping back (such as excema, weight gain and lack of energy).

Recently I got back into it after a long break and managed to shed 32lb in 10 weeks. My own downfall is that I often end up cheating every few weeks out of boredom and social temptation.

I've heard of it and have done some reading around it but have never tried it. Do you eat legumes? Some of the info I've read has said no beans etc (like the wiki article) whereas other info I've read has said they're ok, particularly if you're veggie. What sort of meals do you have?

I currently don't eat meat, don't eat dairy products (I had slipped into it but have cut them out again), have stopped drinking caffeinated drinks in the past couple of weeks (mostly drink water with a couple of cups of rooibos or other herbal teas) and have drastically cut down on wheat and other gluten grains (no good for my IBS), I'm looking into really reducing refined sugars as well (not that I eat a vast amount anyway, I have binge issues with sugary foods so it's better if I avoid them) but at this rate I'll be living on fresh air I sound like a dietary neurotic :p lol

I will eat some legumes, but that's because I need protein, and doing this as a veggie you do have to make some compromises - otherwise I'd be living on eggs and wasting away. I did know the science of it, but I'd need to refer back to the books to remember why some non-paleo food is more acceptable than others.

I'll also allow myself a small percentage of cheating - although paleo is considered a healthier choice, it's no good if you turn yourself into a martyr and are unhappy as a result. I try to aim for at least 3 out of 4 meals being natural, or allowing myself one complete cheat day a week if I've been particularly good. Avoiding wheat and dairy are my main concerns, but I'll still allow myself a small amount in certain circumstances - To me it's not about being a martyr, it's about doing the best I can.

back in the late 80's and early 90's during the raceing season, we followed a diet from the book fit for life that sounds alot like this diet, we would eat only foods from one food source per meal such as all protein or all carbs and never had a plate of mixed food. Virtualy no processed food at all and id did make a huge diffrence was ridng 350 miles a week and then racing ontop of that, always had energy and injuries ....well i cnt remember getting any apart from crashes

I did a bit of reading 'cos I know nothing about the Atkins Diet - and from what I gather the Atkins diet is all about restricting carbs, where the paleo diet is more about eating in tune with our anthropology... and paleo isn't primarily intended for weigh loss. With paleo you can have all the carbs you want as long as they come from natural (i.e. pre-farming) sources.

This is very similar to what my body restricts me to eat anyway. It really isn't intended for veggie diet, and to be fair, the cavemen weren't.

No they weren't - but the types of meat they ate were vastly different to the diets we have today - including rodents and insects - and nothing fed on artificial, hormone and vitamin enriched diets.

There is a kind of consensus that the "hunter" part of hunter/gatherer came about as a need to survive the ice age, and that we're probably more gatherer/scavangers ... nobody really knows though.

I tend to think that the people with intolerances to wheat or dairy are simply more sensitive to things that human beings aren't meant to eat anyway - and in someway blessed because of it. A bit like a canary in a mineshaft - a dead canary still doesn't make the mine any safer for humans - they just have more time to get out before the gas gets them too.

I did a bit of reading 'cos I know nothing about the Atkins Diet - and from what I gather the Atkins diet is all about restricting carbs, where the paleo diet is more about eating in tune with our anthropology... and paleo isn't primarily intended for weigh loss. With paleo you can have all the carbs you want as long as they come from natural (i.e. pre-farming) sources.

To all the veggies, my apologies...I just thought it was a good excuse to eat steak for breakfast but thats just me, lol

Taking Life To Seriously? Just Remember We Are Talking Monkeys On An Organic Spaceship.

Well, over this week I have discovered something which really caught my attention, the 'palaeolithic diet', and since Vegetarianism has not really achieved what I wanted out of going veggie, which was to lose weight, which it really hasnt achieved, I have just turned to eating dairy and carbs, so here goes for the Palaeolithic diet...

I did a bit of reading 'cos I know nothing about the Atkins Diet - and from what I gather the Atkins diet is all about restricting carbs

While the Atkins diet involves restricts carbs, it also about restricting fructose in the form of fruit juice, high fructose corn syrup and to lesser extent sugar, fruit. and non green vegetables. For those who don't know about fructose, google the work of Dr Robert Lustig. When I first heard him on the radio , it all made perfect sense.

Hey Paul if you have a problem with weight gain, have you considered your vitamin D and iodine intake levels? As with iron you can have too much is your body needs a dosage.

Good fats such as butter and coconut oil may not be considered part of a caveman diet but good fats are the slow burning fuel for your body, analogous to burning a bit of box wood versus burning petrol. Avocados are also form of good fat.

I don't have a problem with weight gain - I did have a problem with gluttony (and using food like a drug) which contributed to me eating far too much junk ... but nowadays I'm as fit as a fiddle.

Ah but that is the whole problem with fructose, it keeps making you want to eat more and making less energetic at the same time, creating a feedback loop.

When I started working in the catering business in the late 1970's the standard serve of orange juice was abut half a teacupful. Probably the right amount anyone should have for the whole day.In those days only orange and grapefruit juices were available , these being lower in fructose than other fruit juices that started to appear in the the 1980's and in larger quantities. All my sisters to this day think that fruit juice is healthy.